1. Field of the Art
Generally, systems and methods are disclosed for authentication of users of mobile devices based on physical movement data. More specifically, methods and systems are disclosed for locking or delaying a password lock of a mobile device depending on a user's gait or other movement patterns.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Fraud and identity theft have become more of a problem as more consumers use credit and other payment cards to complete financial transactions. The number of transactions completed through payments cards and their respective accounts, as opposed to through cash and checks, has grown to cover a substantial portion of the financial transactions people make.
As payment methods transform from physical payment cards to mobile devices, such as cellular phones, such devices may be stolen more frequently. With financial transactions conducted from mobile devices, it becomes even more important to verify a user's identity against the true owner of a mobile device.
Current methods for authorizing a user to a device include password-protected timeouts. If a mobile phone has not been used for a few minutes, the screen goes blank or shows a screen saver, and the device is effectively locked. To unlock the device, a user must input a password. This password-protected timeout paradigm can be effective for cases in which a user has left his or her mobile device unattended for a requisite number of minutes and a thief has subsequently made off with the device. The thief, not knowing the password, is not able to unlock the device without considerable effort.
There are problems with password-protected timeouts. Because of the nuisance of having to enter a password whenever the phone has not been used for a while, a user may increase the time between timeouts or turn the password protection off. An increased time between timeouts allows a thief more time to pilfer a mobile device before its screen locks, thus defeating the purpose of the screen lock. The user may also set the password to be one that is easily guessed (e.g., “1234”) so that it is easy to enter on the device. An easy-to-guess password is sometimes not much better than no password at all, and it can be counterproductive because it gives a false sense of security.
There is a need in the art for better authentication of users on mobile devices, or, conversely, locking mobile devices for unauthenticated users.